Abstract

On the outbreak of war Ireland declared a 'national emergency' and announced its neutrality in the
impending global conflict. Neutrality was seen as a vital test of Ireland's newly established
independence, an expression of self-determination and national identity, yet it was viewed with
scepticism by some. The sceptics included John W. Dulanty, the Irish High Commissioner in London,
who supported the policy but was reported to have commented to the Secretary of State for the
Dominions, Sir Thomas Inskip, that Irish neutrality would not last more than a week as a result of
attacks on shipping. Neutrality is viewed in hindsight in a more nuanced way because the assistance
given to the Allies, including the supply of necessary labour to the British war effort, can be viewed
as compromising the ideal of neutrality as representing total impartiality and non-involvement Irish
citizens were to experience the heavy impact of war despite Ireland's neutral status, and the many
thousands of Irish people in Britain also experienced the deprivations and hardships of 'total war.'
As Sir Llewellyn Woodward, official historian of the war, observed: in the autumn of 1940, the
'Germans had turned to indiscriminate night bombing in order to break British morale and to destroy
British factories and communications'. The women factory workers discussed in this article were
among the civilians working in such British factories and were therefore directly affected by the
exigencies of war.